NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock futures got a boost on Thursday from a duo of reports, which showed a surprise drop in weekly jobless claims and a rise in retail sales in February.

Shares of Plug Power Inc. and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. both jumped in premarket on earnings reports.

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Futures for the S&P 500 index
US:SPH4
rose 4.2 points to 1,871.90, while those for the Dow Jones Industrial Average
US:DJH4
added 31 points to 16,370. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index
US:NDH4
added 12 points to 3,718.75.

The number of people who applied for U.S. unemployment benefits in the first week of March fell to the lowest level in more than three months, perhaps a sign of an uptick in labor-market conditions.

Sales at U.S. retailers rose in February for the first time in three months as shoppers boosted purchases of a variety of goods after being cooped up by one of the harshest winters in years.

Another focus for Wall Street will be the question-and-answer session during a Senate hearing of three nominees to the Federal Reserve. Those nominees released their written testimony on Wednesday, and the most prominent, Stanley Fischer, said the Fed’s easy U.S. monetary stance is still needed. The Q&A will start at 10 a.m. Eastern.

U.S. stocks finished little changed on Wednesday after erasing early losses that stemmed from a selloff of overseas markets. Worries about a China slowdown and Russia-Ukraine tensions contributed to early jitters, though the S&P 500
SPX, +0.59%
ended up 0.57 point, or less than 0.1%, at 1,868.20.

China data shows industrial production, retail sales slowing

Asian markets were mixed, with the Nikkei 225 index
NIK, +1.23%
ending flat, and the Hang Seng Index
HSI, -0.44%
falling 0.7% after data showed China’s industrial production slowed to 8.6% in the January-February period, versus 9.7% in December. Retail sales in China eased to 11.8% in January, from 13.1% in December.

Some analysts brushed the readings aside, while others saw a sharper slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy. In a note, analysts at Danske Bank said the data suggests the economy is slowing faster than expected, and the slowdown in industrial production suggests growth in gross domestic product could drop below the government’s 7.5% target as soon as the first quarter. Faber sees China growth at 4% -- good news for its ‘gigantic’ bubble

Bloomberg

Shoppers walk through the Westfield North County Mall in Escondido, California, U.S., on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013.

Going the other way, the Shanghai Composite
SHCOMP, +0.54%
rose 1%. Some attributed this to comments by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who said he was confident the Chinese economy would meet its 7.5% growth goal for this year. He also acknowledged that defaults of some financing vehicles may be inevitable, but the government would closely monitor the situation.

Some said Shanghai stocks were also boosted by media reports that China’s securities regulator may allow companies to issue preferred shares within the first half of the year, as it works to try to deliver market-boosting measures to lift confidence in the battered market.

Gold
US:GCJ4
shifted moderately lower, but copper prices
US:HGK4
under pressure this week due to China worries, were off another 3.3%.

The dollar
DXY, +0.47%
meanwhile, fell across the board after stronger-than-expected labor-market data in Australia, which pushed the Aussie dollar
AUDUSD, -0.1742%
back above 90 cents. The euro
EURUSD, -0.5086%
remained above $1.39, after moving above that on Wednesday. Oil prices fell slightly.

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